


Intercepted

by frozenCinders



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: M/M, background thiefshipping - Freeform, marik (especially yami marik) is touch starved
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-26
Updated: 2020-05-26
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:41:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24392236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/frozenCinders/pseuds/frozenCinders
Summary: He only meant to make an attempt on the spirit of the Ring's life. Never did he expect to become addicted to its host's warmth.
Relationships: Bakura Ryou/Yami Marik
Comments: 2
Kudos: 36





	Intercepted

**Author's Note:**

> i have an antagoshipping request to work on but writerbrain said You. Deathshipping. Now.
> 
> that being said, please send fic requests to frozencinders on tumblr! they're free!

That fool really thought he could be rid of his better half without destroying them both. He's not some ancient spirit that can be put to rest-- he resides in his lesser half's mind, not beside his soul. Even Marik thought it might be possible, but every time his lesser half got even slightly frustrated, he gained a little more consciousness back. Of course, his lesser half is now the happiest and most peaceful he's been in his life, so Marik highly doubts he'll have enough power to do anything significant any time soon.

More than anything, it's annoying not having his own agency. This has been a problem since his inception, but Marik finally got a taste of freedom for a few _days_ \-- he'd never been out for more than maybe ten minutes before the Battle City finals-- and it hurts more being without it now. He tugs at his lesser half whenever he has one of his petty arguments with his little boyfriend, urging his subconscious to escalate to a point where Marik might be able to front, but his lesser half likes that stupid spirit too much to listen.

He wishes he would have at least gone back to Egypt, back down into the darkness he hated so much. But no, Marik is instead stuck regularly watching the controller of their body bask in the light of the sun like it's his one true love. Marik is ashamed to admit that it's growing on him.

For all his frustration, Marik is still... calm. It disappoints him, because his own rage could fuel his lesser half's, creating a feedback loop that could put him in control again, even if just for a little while, but he can only watch quietly as his host goes about his life, hardly having the energy to even mentally commentate it.

It's because he's been so inactive, so low on energy, that it surprises him completely when he finally sees his lesser half vulnerable again. He can't sleep, and the spirit put his host to bed an hour ago. He's letting the darkness get to him, feeling guilty and pathetic that he can't stop thinking about running to the spirit and waking it up just so he won't have to be alone. The second he hears the thought _"I don't want to be here",_ Marik musters what little energy he can to snatch control away, tucking his lesser half's consciousness away to sleep.

It was never usually so easy to assume control, but then again, Odion was always nearby before. The spirit keeps Marik's lesser half happy, somehow, but he will never have the same infuriating ability to keep him grounded as Odion.

Although the body is restless, Marik's mind is still weak and sluggish. Maybe he hasn't fully recovered from Battle City yet after all, because no matter how much he reflects on the pain and misery in his life, in his host's life, he can't feel the adrenaline of rage churning in his veins like he used to.

But what is the point of a life if not to prolong its own existence? While he's fronting, there's something Marik ought to take care of, even if he is low on energy. He doesn't have the Millennium Rod anymore, his favorite weapon, but he has two perfectly good hands with which to kill. The spirit of the Ring is asleep, and who knows when Marik will be able to front again? He has to get rid of its body.

It's easy to get into the spirit's room. He sets a knee on the bed, quietly bringing the other around to straddle the spirit's host. He carefully brushes the spirit's hair out of the way, just so as not to spoil the feeling of strangling him, but he immediately pauses. He's seen the spirit plenty of times through his lesser half's eyes, even developed the faintest fondness for his appearance, but his sleeping face still catches Marik off guard. He looks so soft and harmless as he sleeps-- so innocent. It's the soft and the innocent that are the most fun to torture, and Marik feels his mind waking up a tad at that reminder.

The second he has a loose, one-handed grasp on the spirit's throat, a hand reaches for his own. Marik pulls back, startled, but the spirit follows him and hooks its arms gently around his neck. It makes him tense up and feels a bit... ticklish? It mumbles as it nuzzles into his chest, seemingly denying something in his sleep.

"'s not him," is the first thing he catches, but it takes Marik a moment to figure out what he means. He thought at first that the spirit was acting out its dreams, but now he thinks it's recognizing that Marik is back, and not the one he loves.

"See?"

Marik follows the spirit's nod to the nightstand and sees the Millennium Ring lying on it. He was so focused on the Ring's host, that he didn't stop to look around the room. Then...

"I'm not him," the host repeats, "you'll have to wait until morning to see him."

Ah. The host must think Marik is his lesser half, sneaking in to bother his boyfriend and not to be rid of him.

He's awfully cuddly. Marik feels like he's melting. Even worse, he misses the feeling fiercely when the spirit's host drops his arms and turns over onto his side. Before Marik can stop himself, nor even understand what he's doing, he grabs the host's arms and wraps them around his neck like before. He tries weakly to pull away, just once, but Marik holds his arms there.

"Just lay down," the host sighs. "I'm not him, but you can pretend, if you want."

That's funny; Marik already vastly prefers the spirit's host over the spirit itself. But he listens wordlessly, letting the arms fall and adjusting so his position matches the host's. No, Marik wants to use his name.

"Bakura," he says, just to have the sound in his mouth.

"Everyone calls the spirit that. Call me Ryou."

Ryou... Marik mouths the name, but his voice doesn't find it. He's lying behind Ryou until he turns around to face Marik, his eyes wide open now.

"Oh, you seem different..." he finally notices. "Bad night?"

Right, Ryou probably never saw this side of Marik. The spirit usually locks him away when he takes over, with a smug entitlement to his host's body that mirrors Marik's own.

If he tells Ryou that he's someone else, will he push him away? Normally, Marik wouldn't care in the slightest, would delight at any given person being surprised or disgusted by him. But he feels strange tonight, and the last thing he wants is for Ryou to put any amount of space between them. He unconsciously moves a little closer.

"Better now," he answers, bringing a hand up to hold Ryou's chin, forcing him to keep looking at him. He doesn't know why.

"Do you like me, too?" Ryou asks, raising a brow in confusion. Marik's lesser half expressed bare minimum interest in Ryou, after all, as he only serves as a vessel for his little lover. But Marik...

"I like you more," he says honestly.

"You're different like this..." he notes again, and Marik's pulse inexplicably gets a little faster. "Maybe I like you more when you're sleepy, too."

Marik takes a sharp intake of breath and holds it when Ryou snakes his arms around him and tangles their legs together. He slides down to rest his forehead on Marik's collarbone.

"Or maybe you're not Marik."

He probably would have frozen, were he not already stunned from Ryou's affection. He'll be whatever the hell Ryou wants him to be right now, anything to keep him touching him.

So he doesn't answer, because he doesn't know what will get him his way. He's used to deliberately telling people what they _don't_ want to hear, not like his lesser half who would tempt and manipulate people with their desires. Gods, if only he hadn't surrendered the Rod; he can't read minds without the damned thing.

Ryou pulls away enough to look up at Marik, whose hands automatically move to keep Ryou in place. He's starting to look concerned, and the display feeds Marik's instincts.

"What's wrong, my dear? Don't appreciate being held down by a stranger?" he taunts with a grin.

"Actua--uh..." Ryou begins but trails off when Marik licks his cheek. He brings a hand up to touch where he licked him, looking absolutely taken aback.

Marik is surprised when Ryou rolls over to be on top of him. He lets him stay there for the moment, curious, and gasps quietly when Ryou just lays down on him, his cheek resting right where Marik's heart beats much too fast for him. They're so close like this...

Marik holds Ryou tightly, finding his weight comforting somehow.

"Don't tell the spirit I'm back," he whispers. Ryou smiles and takes Marik's hand in his own.

"You're safe with me."

Everything this boy does shocks and confuses Marik immensely. He's so gentle with him, so sweet, and he makes Marik's heart do flips in his chest even worse than it does when his lesser half catches himself staring at the spirit.

Ah, that's right... Marik is only still fronting because his lesser half is asleep, and he will surely take control again for who knows how long once he wakes up. Ryou is still a big part of his lesser half's life, but Marik will be trapped, unable to do anything other than watch and long for him until another opportunity happens to present itself. With someone like Ryou around, how the hell is his host supposed to get miserable enough for Marik to front?

Because he doesn't know when, or even _if,_ he'll ever get another chance to be with Ryou like this, he grabs him by the face and kisses him before it's too late. Ryou starts in surprise but is quick to kiss back, his movements relaxed and slow as opposed to Marik's sudden desperate frenzy. Marik pauses for just a second, and Ryou lays a kiss on his forehead. Marik's own voice bubbling up and catching in his throat surprises him and his vision starts to blur as his eyes itch. He rubs at one of them and his hand comes back wet.

"I'll figure out a way to let you out again," Ryou promises with a soft smile. "You can go to sleep."

Marik takes a deep breath and obeys, setting his free hand in Ryou's hair and laying him back down on his chest. If he has to watch him helplessly for the rest of his life, so be it. This is one thing he can't destroy.


End file.
